Aeolian sediment transport on Io from lava–frost interactions

George D. McDonald (), Joshua Méndez Harper, Lujendra Ojha, Paul Corlies, Josef Dufek, Ryan C. Ewing and Laura Kerber
Additional contact information
George D. McDonald: The State University of New Jersey
Joshua Méndez Harper: University of Oregon
Lujendra Ojha: The State University of New Jersey
Paul Corlies: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Josef Dufek: University of Oregon
Ryan C. Ewing: Texas A&M University
Laura Kerber: California Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Surface modification on Jupiter’s volcanically active moon, Io, has to date been attributed almost exclusively to lava emplacement and volcanic plume deposits. Here we demonstrate that wind-blown transport of sediment may also be altering the Ionian surface. Specifically, shallow subsurface interactions between lava and Io’s widespread sulfur dioxide (SO2) frost can produce localized sublimation vapor flows with sufficient gas densities to enable particle saltation. We calculate anticipated outgassing velocities from lava–SO2 frost interactions, and compare these to the saltation thresholds predicted when accounting for the tenuous nature of the sublimated vapor. We find that saltation may occur if frost temperatures surpass 155 K. Finally we make the first measurements of the dimensions of linear features in images from the Galileo probe, previously termed “ridges”, which demonstrate certain similarities to dunes on other planetary bodies. Io joins a growing list of bodies with tenuous and transient atmospheres where aeolian sediment transport may be an important control on the landscape.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29682-x Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-29682-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29682-x

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().